Friday, 26 February 2016

KARACHI: Ahsan Khan has currently been making waves as Shams in TV serialPreet Na Kariyo Koi, but the actor is ready to hit the big screen once again with the upcoming filmChupan Chupai.

“Chupan Chupaiis a comic thriller with interesting twists and turns,” the actor said while speaking toThe Express Tribune.

Ahsan will be seen in a comic avatar in the film. Delving into details about his character, Ahsan said, “I am playing the role of a guy who is ambitious. He wants to achieve a lot in life therefore he gets into crimes to reach his goals. He is also dumb at the same time. So, whenever he tries to do something, he ends up ruining it due to his silly mistakes.”

The actor revealed that his decision to do this film is because he “found the script very interesting.”

Bachaana has registered an excellent first day at domestic market with figures looking to go over 1cr approx.. Film started slow in the morning with around 20-30% at major cities whereas small cities opened less than 10% at most places..

Film saw excellent pick over the Day with Islamabad seeing best Pick.. Cinepax Rawalpindi opened to around 30% but ended the day close to 100% with 70% average occupancy.. Islamabad is looking to add around 20lacs approx on first day with huge 5+lacs added by Cinepax..

At Karachi film saw very good day at Nueplex and Cinepax with both seeing few houseful shows but at Atirum things started around 30% and ended in region 70%.. Biggest contributor Lahore remained good with average occupancy of 50% at Vogue towers whereas Cinestar and Sozoworld saw over 80% average occupancy.. Cinepax Fortress also saw over 70% occupancy.. But small screens in both Lahore and Karachi fared low..

Film is heading toward over 1cr first day which will make it biggest Feb-March opener ever in Pakistan beating Jaliabee and might even touch 1.25cr mark when final numbers come tomorrow..

Overall film has opened extremely well with huge growth over the day and reports are phenomenal from all circuits which mean a healthy growth on Sunday is all on cards.. Film should settle with healthy 3.5-4cr approx Weekend which would mean one of the biggest opening Weekends ever for Urdu films..

Saturday, 20 February 2016

Guitar in hand, jackets on, Yasir Hussain and Saba Qamar are all set to take us on an adventure in their upcoming filmLahore Se Aagey.

The comedy film will see Wajahat resume his director’s seat for this project, a spin-off of his previous filmKarachi Se Lahore.

Terming the previous movie as “more of a boys-boys film,” Rauf said his follow-up film targets all sorts of audiences; a decision which inadvertently led to an overhaul in the cast.

Shot in Punjab and the northern areas of Pakistan, the spin-off will not be an off-road adventure like its predecessor. “This will be more of a romantic-comedy and will follow the adventures of a young couple set right after the events of Karachi Se Lahore,” said Yasir who is also writing dialogues for the film.

Of his decision to feature Moti’s life in the spin-off, Rauf shared, “Following the release of Karachi Se Lahore, Moti became a tremendous hit amongst the audiences, so Yasir and I decided to make a separate film starring just him.”

Along with Hussain, actor Saba Qamar has been cast as the female lead, whom Rauf described as one of the most “level-headed people” in an otherwise funny cast. His decision to cast Qamar, is because he thought it would be an “interesting experience”.

“I don’t think many directors have explored this facet of her acting on-screen,” said the director.

Although the script for the sequel has already been completed, Rauf was reluctant to divulge any further details about Qamar’s role. “She will be essaying the role of an urban girl in the movie and, just like Ayesha Omar’s character in the original film, her character will also go through a transformation,” he added.

The film also stars veteran actor Behroz Sabzwari, Rubina Ashraf, Abdullah Farhatullah and Omer Sultan, with music composed by Shiraz Uppal. The film will go on floors in March and is slated to release worldwide later this year.

Friday, 19 February 2016

For Ashir Azeem, pride is more than just a five-letter word. The actor-director who is preoccupied with the post-production of his debut feature filmMaalikrecently wrote on a Facebook thread, “I will not go to Bangkok or Dubai or India. I will do everything in Pakistan and prove that we are second to none. I take pride that my film is ‘made in Pakistan’.”

Talking toThe Express Tribune, the creator of popularPTVseriesDhuwanelaborated upon his strong feelings about nationhood by drawing a parallel to the “Chinese launching rockets into space”. He said, “For me it’s a matter of pride. When the Chinese made rockets, everything, from their programming to the buttons on the pilot’s suit, was made in China.” To him, the Pakistani entertainment industry is a similar avenue which Pakistanis need to take ownership of.

Contrary to popular belief, Azeem clarified that his decision to post-produce the film in Pakistan was not made due to financial constraints. “The cost of colour correction and colour grading is roughly the same whether you get them done from abroad or in Pakistan. This is why I chose to do everything here,” he explained.

He was all praises for the finesse in popular local productions likeJawani Phir Nahi Ani(JPNA),Ho Mann JahaanandMoor. “Look at all these films. Their colour correction was done over here [in Pakistan] only and all three are at par with any international movie,” he shared.

Currently wrapping up post-production onMaalik, Azeem revealed the official trailer for the film will be out on March 1 while the film will hit theatres on April 8. Azeem had initially planned to have the film’s premiere coincide with Pakistan Day, however, there’s a problem. “Unfortunately, we won’t be able to release the movie on March 23 because then it would coincide with World T20 in India so we had to push the release to April 8,” said Azeem.

A week afterMaalik’s release, Shah Rukh Khan’s highly anticipated film,Fan, is expected to grace cinema screens. However, Azeem remains unaffected by any competition the Bollywood release will put up for his film. “I would rather compete with an Indian movie than a local film.”

Most of the post-production forMaalikis taking place at Sharp Image in Karachi, while music composer Sahir Ali Bagga has taken charge of the film’s background score. Expected to feature three songs only, the soundtrack is still in its initial stages of production. Although Azeem is sure that singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan will lend his voice for at least one track, he is still mulling over the possibility of approaching other playback singers. “As of now we know that Rahat [Fateh Ali Khan] will be singing a song. It is possible that he may sing more but that depends on the nature of the tracks.”

Directed by Azeem,Maalikfeatures an ensemble cast including notable television and film actors Farhan Ali Agha, Sajid Hassan, Hassan Niazi, Tatmain Ul Qulb and Adnan Shah Tipu among others. It is being distributed by Footprint Media.

LAHORE: Asad ul Haq of Shiny Toy Guns (STG) band and veteran Pakistani actor Shaan Shahid, have diverse skill sets which, when put together, have the potential to create magic. The two demonstrated this themselves in their collaboration forMission 5but unfortunately, the project fell through prematurely. Now, almost two years afterDekh Magar Pyaar Se(DMPS) and midway shooting forArth 2andYalghaar, the duo have met up in Lahore to revisit their love for films.

“Shaan’s working on a film and I’ve just come out of one. He’s an actor cum director but we decided to put those differences asid. As long as we mutually respect boundaries, I think we can present a great package,” shares Asad. “We will revisitMission 5and see where we were and incorporate other ideas. We’re working as a team and not deciding the roles right now. We’ll see later on, who directs and who produces.” When questioned as to whyMission 5was initially scratched, Asad responded, “We weren’t ready for that big an undertaking financially and needed a specific kind of weather to shoot.”

Speaking about the mistakes he made inDMPS, Asad stands behind his film wholeheartedly. He pointed out that other films are yet to become full packages themselves. “Everyone is experimenting and our visuals were the strongest out of the rest. We all have different strengths so I’m all in for collaborating.” Despite the picturesque shots inDMPSthough, he admitted the films weakness lay in its storyline – something he can work on for the future. “Shaan has experience, script expertise and the ability to capture the desi crux mass appeal and STG has visual expertise,” adds Asad.

According to Asad, people are usually hesitant to collaborate in Pakistan, even though he’s been pushing it under the STG banner. “I can’t do everything and neither can you, so why can’t we work together? I’m not saying I’m bent on directing but I have a certain expertise. Take it from me and see where it goes,” added Asad.“One needs to put out different things. If the desi audience isn’t ready for what I have to put out there, that’s fine with me.” He further said, “I’m putting my team together with some new talent and oldies as I can’t do this alone, I need people around.”

Friday, 5 February 2016

2016 will be another exciting year for Pakistani cinema as filmmakers continue to experiment with genres. One such film is 3 Bahadur, an animated feature film from Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy that made its way to cinemas across Pakistan last year in May and won children’s hearts everywhere. Fans can now rejoice because a sequel is not only on the cards but the first look poster for the said sequel is here and it looks interesting albeit slightly ominous.

Produced and directed by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, the first film in the series was based on three 11-year-old friends, equipped with super power, who battle against the odds and raise their voice against injustice to restore peace in society.

According to reports, the sequel will take on the legacy of the first part and aims at inspiring the children of Pakistan.

The sequel is a star-studded affair and will feature some new voices including Fahad Mustafa, Sarwat Gilani, Ahmed Ali Butt, Zeba Shahnaz and Ali Gul Pir.

Meanwhile the original chyaracters from the first film - Zuhab Khan as Saadi, Hanzala Shahid as Kamil, Behroze Sabzwari as Deenu, Bassam Shazli as Pateeli and Chatpa and Hammad Siddiq as Ghutka and Shikra will reprise their roles in the sequel.

Wednesday, 3 February 2016

Few people know that following the release ofKarachi Se Lahore(KSL)last year, director Wajahat Rauf would sneak into its cinema screenings to gauge the response of the audience. A common denominator in all of his secret trips was how everyone warmed up to Yasir Hussain’s character, Moti, each time. “I witnessed how the crowd would burst into laughter every time Moti delivered his witty one-liners or just appeared on screen,” recalled Rauf whilst speaking withThe Express Tribune.

The overwhelming responses eventually gave birth to an idea for a spin-off movie in Rauf’s mind. The director is currently preoccupied with enlisting the cast-members for a sequel toKSL, expected to go on floors around March 15. Thus far, just Hussain has been confirmed to be reprising his role; the rest of the cast ofKSLwill only be seen in cameo appearances for the second instalment.

Along with Hussain, actor Saba Qamar has been cast as the female lead whom Rauf described as one of the most “level-headed people” in an otherwise funny cast. Speaking about his decision to cast Qamar, the director revealed that he thought it would be an “interesting experience”. According to Rauf, the Pakistani beauty has been typecast in a certain bracket of roles just like many of her contemporaries. “I don’t think many directors have explored this facet of her acting on-screen,” he said. Although the script for the sequel has already been completed, Rauf was reluctant to divulge any further details about Qamar’s role. “She will be essaying the role of an urban girl in the movie and, just like Ayesha Omar’s character in the original film, her character will also go through a transformation,” he added. Nonetheless, Rauf believes fresh actors will play a key role in making the film stand at a distance from its prequel, offering audiences the right mix of “emotions, comedy and serious stuff”.

Set in real-time, just like its predecessor, the sequel will begin on the next morning following the events ofKSLwith Moti embarking on a similar road trip but this time, to the northern areas of Pakistan. “Unlike the first movie, which was filmed partially on set and partially on location, 70% to 80% of the spin-off will be shot in Lahore, Islamabad and other cities up north,” shared Rauf. “The songs, however, will be filmed in Karachi.”

Prior to its release,KSLmet with a great deal of hype due to an item number entitledTutti Fruit, performed by Omar. While the sequel may not necessarily offer another item song, Rauf did share that Hussain and Qamar will be doing a dance number together. Billed largely as a “Moti-starrer”, he said the sequel may not touch upon the character’s backstory in detail. “One advantage we have with Moti anchoring the film is that now we can explore the character in detail,” explained Rauf.

Although the film is scheduled for an Eidul Azha release, Rauf hinted he might reschedule the release date if need be. However, if the movie does come out on the said date, it is likely to face stiff competition from another comedy, Nabeel Qureshi’sActor In Law. But Rauf is confident. “All films tend to do well around Eid as many people flock to cinemas to watch the latest releases. Even last year our film released on a non-holiday weekend and still performed well.”

Apart from directing, Rauf will also double up as the writer for the movie. However, he credited Hussain for conceiving most of the story and dialogues. The film also stars veteran actor Behroz Sabzwari with music composed by Shiraz Uppal.